Current News

Vermont Business Magazine - Vermont law entitles Vermont homeowners faced with foreclosure to request foreclosure mediation and requires the mediators to submit mediation reports to the Vermont Attorney General. The Attorney General’s Office has reviewed the reports received in 2015, and concluded that the program continues to be successful at helping homeowners and banks resolve their problems in ways that are advantageous to all parties.

In 2015, foreclosure mediators reported 108 cases to the Attorney General’s Office. Of mediations reported to our office, nearly two-thirds of all cases in which both parties participated resulted in the parties coming to an agreement that resolved the foreclosure matter. The vast majority of those agreements allowed homeowners to stay in their homes, either through a loan modification, a repayment plan, or some other agreement. 

Vermont Business Magazine - Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) seeks nominations for the 2016 SVHC Vision Awards. These awards recognize one physician and one community member whose ideas and hard work improve health in Southwestern Vermont and the surrounding area. The Vision Awards were first presented in September 2010.

“The Vision Awards are an important tradition, because they acknowledge the commitment and contributions of our local leaders and provide the role models we need to realize our vision of a healthy, vibrant community,” said Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, SVHC’s president and CEO.

Vermont Business Magazine Intuit Inc (Nasdaq: INTU) is contacting some Vermont taxpayers who may have inadvertently underpaid their state income tax. The outreach effort, being done in conjunction with the state’s Department of Taxes, follows the discovery of an error in the company’s TurboTax® and ProSeries® software that caused some taxpayers and tax professionals to file an incorrect state tax return and underpay taxes owed. The state has said that about $2 million overall is due.

“Our customers rely on us to deliver an accurate return and nothing is more important to us than making this right and building customer trust and confidence in Intuit,” said Bob Meighan, CPA and Intuit vice president. “We’re committed to reaching out to our customers and guiding them through the process and assisting the state in processing amended returns.”

Vermont Business Magazine Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), Vermont’s second largest community mental-health agency, announced today that it has elected SallyAnn Silfies to its Board of Directors. The agency will look to Silfies for unique perspectives based on her decade of service as an HCRS employee. Silfies worked for 10 years in the agency’s Children, Youth, and Families program, from which she retired in 2013. She currently serves as Pastor of the Greater Hartford United Church of Christ in Hartford, Vermont.

“We are delighted to welcome home a valued member of our HCRS family as she begins her important role as our newest board member,” said George Karabakakis, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, HCRS.  “Given her years of outstanding contributions to our intensive family-based services, we look forward to the fresh and discerning viewpoints that SallyAnn will bring to the table.”

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont College of Medicine Dean Frederick C Morin III, MD, and University of Vermont Medical Group President and CEO Claude Deschamps, MD, have announced the appointment of Mazen A Maktabi, MBBCh, as chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and health care service chief of anesthesiology at the UVM Medical Center, effective August 1, 2016.

Mazen A Maktabi, courtesy UVM.

Vermont Business Magazine When Dorothy and George Cook became active Emergency Medical Service providers, the EMS system that Vermonters now routinely depend on had only been developed less than 10 years earlier. Now, more than 40 years later, the two founding members of the Morristown EMS - who still volunteer for night shifts - will be honored by their peers with the first-ever Vermont Emergency Medical Services Lifetime Award.

The Cooks will be among a number of other awardees and EMS providers at a public celebration on May 17 at the State House to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Emergency Medical Services in the United States. Governor Peter Shumlin has proclaimed May 15-21, 2016 as Emergency Medical Services Week to highlight the vital mission and dedication of the state's EMS volunteers and professionals.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has added three more PFOA blood draw clinics for people in Bennington and North Bennington affected by PFOA contamination of drinking water. Two clinics are scheduled for June, and one will be held in late May for students who are returning home from college. The blood draw clinics are being conducted with support from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. Private drinking water wells in the area around the former Chemfab/Saint-Gobain site have had detections of PFOA ranging from non-detect to nearly 3,000 parts per trillion, significantly above Vermont's advisory level of 20 parts per trillion for drinking water.

The blood tests will measure the level of PFOA in an individual's blood, and this can be compared to levels measured by CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for adults and older children in the U.S. Most adults have low levels of PFOA in their blood.

Vermont Business Magazine The 2nd annual SVHC Foundation Dine to Your Heart’s Delight—a week-long “shop local” week, $10,000 Save a Heart Cash Raffle, and upscale dance party—raised more than $17,000 for heart health programs and education at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, based in Bennington. Twenty local businesses participated in the event by donating a portion of their proceeds from the week of April 1-8. Gold level sponsors included the Taconic Hotel in Manchester, Pangaea Restaurant in North Bennington, The Elm Street Market in Bennington, Time for Yourself LLC, and the Four Chimneys Inn in Bennington.

Vermont Business Magazine On Friday, May 13, 2016, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) filed the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) Proposed Rule with the Vermont Secretary of State. This filing represents the start of the formal rulemaking process during which the public will continue to consider the strengthening of agricultural water quality standards for Vermont farms. A public comment period on the Proposed Rule will be open until July 7, 2016, with five public hearings on the Proposed Rule scheduled for the end of June.

Vermont Business Magazine The owners of Phoenix Books, an independent bookstore with locations in Essex, Burlington and Rutland, have purchased Chester's Misty Valley Books. Michael DeSanto and Renee Reiner met with Lynne and Bill Reed - who bought the Chester landmark in 2001 - for the closing this morning. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. "Twenty-one years ago," says Reiner, "as Mike and I embarked on this adventure, we considered buying Misty Valley Books from the original owners, Dwight Currie and Michael Kohlmann. So it feels like we've come full circle. We are so delighted to have Misty Valley as part of our Phoenix family!"

Vermont Business Magazine Sixty-two students passed across the stage at the College of St Joseph’s 57th commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 15. CSJ President Dr Richard Lloyd conferred degrees upon the graduates. Academic Dean Dr Jonas Prida led the processional. Rutland City Chief of Police Brian Kilcullen addressed students, their families, and faculty and staff in attendance, speaking of the importance of dreams, of giving back to the community, and the value of hard work.

Kilcullen spoke of his grandfather, who as a young man immigrated to the United States from Ireland, of growing up in Schenectady, NY, and of his ambition to be a spy during the Cold War era. The story of his grandparents is one that some of the graduates may relate to, he said.

Vermont Business Magazine As Vermont colleges prepare to send off graduating classes, Governor Peter Shumlin is reminding graduates of the excellent employment opportunities in Vermont by highlighting the 3rd Annual Vermont Career Connections recruitment event, which will have 60 great employers with hundreds of open positions. Organized by the Vermont Recruiters Association and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, the event will connect vibrant local companies with talented job seekers. It will take place Thursday, May 19th from noon to 6 pm at the Sheraton Burlington Conference Center. Available positions will range across all industries, including healthcare, hospitality, banking, construction, and manufacturing.

“It is incredibly encouraging that right here in Vermont so many businesses are creating good jobs and looking for qualified workers. Those good jobs are vital to the economic future of this beautiful state,” said Shumlin.